Luukanen-Kilde was born in Värtsilä.
She had to flee with her family in infancy during the Second World War and was raised in Helsinki.
She studied medicine at the universities of Oulu and Turku, graduating in 1967.
She was at one point the only medical practitioner at the hospital in Pelkosenniemi, performing dental and veterinary work as well.
In March 1975, she became a provincial medical officer in Rovaniemi, Lapland; she became chief medical officer for Lapland.